Dresses and a Christmas Miracle
by ihatewriting
Summary: Tonight was finally a chance to for smart, sensible Sakura to blow Sasuke away with with a sexy red dress. Unfortunately, Sasuke does not react as she expected. Fortunately, Sasuke wasn't as shallow as she thought. SasuSaku one-shot. T for language.


**A/N**: My first SasuSaku and my longest one-shot yet! Sasuke might be a little nicer than usual, but other than that, I hope everyone else is in character.

* * *

**Dresses and a Christmas Miracle**

She was grateful that Ino had lent her the famous red dress. It was the dress that, Ino bragged, had made grown men cry. She could definitely see why Ino thought it improper to wear to the company's annual Christmas party. The plunging neckline exposed a good amount of skin. So given Ino's generous cleavage, it would have looked more than unprofessional. It would have looked rather skanky. Such a shame, Sakura thought, Ino must have been devastated to pass up a chance to flaunt her assets in front of her coworkers, especially in front of Sasuke.

But it was perfect on Sakura's slender figure. It made her look elegant and classy like old Hollywood. She just had to put on her sexy heels and she would be stunning. Hopefully, Sasuke would notice.

Before she left, she spotted her grandmother's pearl necklace and decided to put it on for good luck. Maybe tonight she could experience a Christmas miracle. Maybe tonight Sasuke would ask her out… She shook her head at that absurdity and headed out.

OoOoOoOo

Sasuke arrived thirty minutes after the announced starting time. As he walked into the executive ballroom, he was greeted by blushing female coworkers, most of whom he realized he did not know by name. He guessed they had probably introduced themselves to him at some point, but he was bad with names, no matter how beautiful the woman. Naruto would have given him hell for not caring. His obnoxious blonde friend had been going on and on for weeks about this Christmas party. He said it was the perfect opportunity to talk to women he normally never had a real excuse to talk to because he didn't work directly with them. And who knows—maybe a conversation could lead to more exciting extracurricular activities after the party? Like most men, Naruto envied the way women flocked to Sasuke. It was simple, really. Sasuke was handsome, brilliant, and, frankly, kind of an ass. Most men would actually pay to take courses that taught what he could do so effortlessly. But Sasuke was a bit too uptight and antisocial to use his so-called charm to seduce women.

He made his way over to Hinata, who was standing by the cheese tray, trying to decide what to sample first.

"Don't get the gorgonzola. You'll die," he said, remembering her easily upset stomach.

"Oh! Thanks," she replied, settling for the mild cheddar slice.

Hinata was one of two female coworkers he tolerated enough to call a friend. She wasn't interested in him (thank goodness) because she was already in love with Naruto (heaven knows she could do so much better, he thought). But more importantly, she didn't talk much, and to him that was a huge plus. She was a modest girl who had a liking for rather dowdy clothes. Tonight she chose to wear a slightly oversized polyester shirt with large flower prints and a an old-looking gray skirt when all the other women wore evening gowns.

"Have you seen Naruto?" He might as well start looking for his friend.

"He's not here yet. Well, not that I've been looking for him…I just haven't seen him around…that's all."

"Right."

He didn't know why she wouldn't admit her feelings for Naruto. Not that it needed to be said—the girl was like an open book.

Speaking of books, where was that egghead Sakura? She was pretty much his only other female friend at the office, though their friendship was nowhere as frictionless as his with Hinata. Sometimes she annoyed him, and other times he offended her, but he was always too proud to apologize and she was always too proud to pretend she cared. Still, they had the utmost respect for each other despite all the pseudo-drama. He even suspected that she might have had a crush on him at some point, but she never really acted on it, for which he was glad. They both were far too focused and busy to even think about romance or relationships.

Speaking of the devil—the aforementioned woman walked in like Sasuke had never seen her before. She wore a form-fitting red dress with a dangerously low neckline, paired with a lethal looking pair of black patent leather heels with red soles. Sasuke frowned. Didn't Ino wear something like that once? He noticed that tonight was the night she decided to wear bold make-up: bright red lipstick and thick black mascara. The one thing he liked about her outfit, though, was her pearl necklace. It looked like something that could have once belonged to her mother—slightly antiquated and fussy, but beautiful in its own way. A little like the woman wearing it.

Men who normally never gave her a second glance began to flock to her and make casual comments about stupid things: the food being served, the weather, traffic. She smiled as politely as she could (which is to say not very). Sasuke knew she had not seen him yet, but he did not want to be the first to say hello. The night was young after all.

"Sasuke, would you like to say hi to Sakura?" asked his shy companion.

"Maybe later. I'm thirsty. Want anything?"

"Um, no thank you," she said as she crept across the room to greet Sakura.

As Sasuke asked the bartender for a glass of red wine, a gaggle of office girls (their faces were familiar but, again, he could not remember their names—probably people from HR) said hello and shot him flirtatious glances. He said nothing but gave them a curt smile, earning giggles from them as they walked away. He didn't understand. He was clearly being fake and rather cold, but they seemed to see it as a good signal. It's like you never had to try anymore.

"Tch, women," he muttered.

"What about women, loser?"

Sasuke slowly looked to his left to see his best friend take the bar stool beside him.

"Jack and ginger, please. Thanks man."

"Hey, dobe. I hope you're not planning on getting hammered at an office party."

"Aw c'mon, give me a little more credit than that will ya?"

"Have you seen Hinata yet? I think she's looking for you."

"Nope, and I still need to giver her this Christmas present."

"I didn't take you for much of a present-giver."

"Nah I'm not, but she gave me this $50 gift certificate for Fox's Ramen House. I guess I kinda mentioned it a couple of times, and they turned out to have this bombass ramen! So I thought I should probably get her something too, yanno?"

"She's probably over there somewhere," Sasuke said, pointing in the general direction of where he saw her last.

"Huh? Oh, I think I see—HOLY SHIT is that Sakura?"

"Yep," he answered without looking.

"Jeezus, she looks so freakin…"

Naruto left his best friend to join the pack of men vying for the attention of the lady in red. People were no different from animals, Sasuke thought, from social hierarchies to courtship rituals. Typical. And then he saw something else that was also typical, but slightly sad.

Naruto had given his present to a stammering Hinata, who seemed to be struggling to keep a conversation going. Though Naruto politely stood by her and half-listened, Sasuke knew that Hinata could see he was stealing longing glances at Sakura and that damned red dress. Stupid Naruto. If he only realized that Hinata was also female (and one who was crazy about him), he probably wouldn't be constantly complaining about trying to find a girlfriend.

Suddenly, Sasuke contemplated doing something stupid, possibly embarrassing, and …a little girlish the more he thought about it. Fuck it, he thought, it's Christmas so why the hell not? There was one girl who was getting _too _much attention for his liking, but one wasn't getting nearly enough.

He briskly walked over to his three friends and singled out Hinata.

"Hello Sakura," he said not taking his eyes off the lavender-eyed girl. "Hinata come with me." He didn't wait for a response from either women, but grabbed Hinata's wrist and walked out.

Only when they were in the parking lot did Hinata dare to ask a question.

"Um, Sasuke…may I ask—"

"If you want Naruto to notice you, you have to start dressing more like a woman once in a while. By woman I mean one under fifty." He paused when they got to his car and took out his keys and opened the trunk.

"Because as of now," he grabbed a silky looking thing, "he thinks of you more as a mother than a potential girlfriend." He held out the dress, which had been left behind in the car by his cousin, who had needed to borrow his ride to go to a friend's wedding. He did not care so much as to why she had taken it off in his car, but had become extremely annoyed to find it lying in the backseat of his car on the day of the Christmas party. He had thrown it in the trunk before going inside, planning to dispose of the expensive dress later to teach her a lesson about leaving junk in his car after he had so graciously lent it to her. But this was much better. This was killing two birds with one stone.

"Put this on," he said (borderline commanded). She took it and he turned around to give her privacy.

"Um Sasuke…if I may ask…why do you have a dress?"

He sighed. "It's not mine if that's what you're asking."

"Oh…" Hinata's eyebrows shot up as she started changing. Perhaps Sasuke _does_ get intimate with women after all…and in rather unorthodox places, she thought. He heard her zip something up and then:

"How do I look?"

Sasuke turned around and examined her. She looked radiant, he thought. She could be the perfect combination of demure and alluring when dressed appropriately. His cousin's gown was meant for her.

"Vera Wang suits you."

"Thank you.." A second later, "Oh my! It's a Vera Wang dress? I really shouldn't be wearing it—I might spill something on it—it's so expensive, I just can't—"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not taking it back."

"Thank you," she said rather uneasily. "Should I take my hair down?"

He looked at her long exposed neck, and decided that her chignon was one thing she got right that night. "No, it looks good that way. Let's go back in."

"Okay, let me just put everything else in my car…"

Before they went back inside the building, Sasuke gave her his last piece of advice.

"Hey, despite all this…don't change yourself for him."

"…I know. Thank you."

It would be a shame if she did. She might have had her flaws—like her anxiety problems, her stammering, lack of assertiveness, a terrible taste in most things—but she was a fine lady. He saw qualities in her that made his question his strong dislike for most women. She had brains, but never gloated about it like he and Sakura sometimes would. She was kind and almost selfless, a quality he never wanted in himself but respected anyway. Sakura could be kind too, but her soft side was often disguised with layers of sarcasm. Perhaps this was why he hated that red dress so much. It was everything she was not.

"Oh, and that dress is yours now."

"What? Nononono, Sasuke, I couldn't possibly—"

But she had to keep up, because Sasuke quickened his pace and headed into the building, ignoring her polite refusals.

OoOoOoOo

Once inside, he headed over to Naruto, who had finally gotten his chance and was talking to Sakura.

"Hey dobe, I think I'll head home soon."

"What the hey! The party's barely started! You haven't tried the cheese! Or the crab cakes! Or the mushrooms!"

But Naruto abandoned all thoughts of getting Sasuke to stay when Hinata walked in the room, looking rather flushed from the cold weather outside. Naruto did not notice that he was slightly gaping.

"Hinata, is that you?"

"Who did you think it was, idiot? I made her change because she's supposed to be at a party, not teaching kindergarteners."

"Hm so you're styling her now? Didn't know you were so in touch with your feminine side, Sasuke." It was Sakura speaking, smiling smugly now.

"More so than I can say for you," Sasuke responded, not wanting to put much thought into his comeback. He just wanted to go home.

"Alright, later," he said, heading toward the exit.

"Thank you," Hinata whispered a final time as he passed her.

If he had looked back, he would have seen a dumbfounded Naruto who wondered when his favorite girl pal became a woman, and a livid Sakura, whose elaborate preparations had amounted to nothing.

OoOoOoOo

After several seconds of trying to calm herself, Sakura stormed after him, ignoring the office boys' feeble attempts to start another trite conversation with her. How could Ino stand dressing like this? These outfits only attracted morons whose motivations were fueled more so by their hormones than their brains.

When she was finally outside, Sasuke slowed his pace, probably because he could hear the _click clack_ of her heels. He stopped and turned around, still wearing that arrogant yet irresistible smirk.

"Did you need something?"

"So you're just gonna leave without saying anything to me? What a great friend you are."

"I already said hi."

"You know what I mean," she said, closing the distance between them."

"No, I'm afraid I don't."

She was silent for a minute, and simply observed him in the bright lights of the parking lot. Usually this kind of lighting accentuated flaws, but he was always so damnably perfect. It pissed her off. She thought wearing heels would make her level with him, but she still had to tilt her head upward to look at his eyes. They were dark, just like the rest of him. She knew she could never figure him out. She had accomplished much for her age, but he was still beyond her reach.

She had asked him out to dinner once years ago, and he had politely declined, saying he was swamped with work that night. Though she knew he was probably telling the truth, that it was not just another excuse, her injured pride had never allowed her to ask him again. And they only met outside of the office for work-related business. She thought that dressing more provocatively would somehow get his attention this time, but here he was, being aloof as usual.

"It was nice, you know. What you did for Hinata."

"Tch, just wanted to get rid of the damned thing."

"Hinata or the dress?"

Sasuke only rolled is eyes in response.

"Well…what did you think of _my_ dress?"

She hoped she could finally start some sort of flirtation with the person she had been looking forward to talking to all night, the person she had been secretly in love with for years. She was hoping that flirtation could open up the doors for other opportunities, like dinner or a movie or both. But all he did was shrug.

"That's a lie. You were just jealous because I got so much attention. You know I look great in this thing."

"Actually, I don't think you do."

Sakura was glad it was cold outside. The irritation he was causing would have been almost unbearable indoors. Why did she have to like him so much? There were plenty of smart, handsome men who were far easier to please and just much…_nicer_. And she probably wouldn't always have to be the one doing the all the chasing. She was so angry that she _almost_ wanted to cry. So much effort for nothing!

"It's not you," he said, interrupting her internal monologue.

"What?"

"That dress—it's more Ino, it's not Sakura. It screams for attention. And you're not like that, because you already know you're smart, and capable, and…pleasant looking."

Sakura could only choke out a short laugh. It was probably the sweetest thing Sasuke had ever said! He said she was pleasant looking! She had always dreamed he would tell her she was beautiful or gorgeous, but pleasant looking would do for now.

"So are you trying to say," she said as playfully as possible in an attempt to hide her glee, "that you think I'm perfect just as I am?"

"If you really have to ask that…" he said leaning into her.

Her heart pounded, and time seemed to slow to a crawl. She wondered if this was the moment she had always been waiting for. He was about to kiss her. Maybe this would be _her_ Christmas miracle!

"…then you're not as smart as I thought you were." She closed her eyes to savor the moment, to feel his perfect lips against hers, to finally break the friends-only boundary they had implicitly established long ago. But all she felt were his finger brushing her cheek.

"Loose eyelash," he said smirking, as he showed her the stray lash now on is finger.

"Good night," he said as he walked away from her for the last time that night.

And again, she was furious. How humiliating! And now how could she pretend that she wasn't expecting a kiss? Why did he have to constantly one-up her every fucking time? And why did her stupid, stupid heart have to constantly pine for him? She hated him. And she hated herself because she knew she could never hate him.

"Bastard!" Sakura spat, not knowing he was still within earshot.

"Oh, and Sakura?"

"What?" It came out a low hiss that was harsher than she hoped.

"I'm gonna go to the new sushi restaurant that opened downtown this weekend. It would be nice if you could join me," he said before deactivating his car alarm and getting in.

She could only cross her arms and make a face as he briefly gave her a lopsided smile and drove away. She lingered for a few moments before strutting back into the party. Perhaps it wasn't all a waste, she thought, grinning uncontrollably. This would be their first date ever. Could she even call it a date? Of course she could, she told herself rather haughtily. She was Sakura Haruno, the was nothing she can't do. In a way, she got her Christmas miracle. It was just delivered Sasuke-style.


End file.
